Addiction is vicious. Not only does substance abuse rewire our brains for the worse, it is also a relationship killer.
Instead of handing down the classic car or the childhood home, some parents are bequeathing their children a future of internal torment. Is the cause physiological or psychological? The answer is unclear. What is clear is that when it comes to addiction, we need to be thinking about our children’s future as much as our own.
In brain SPECT scans of patients struggling with addiction we often see global damage to the brain, including the frontal lobes (which control executive functioning skills like planning, attention span, and impulse control) and in the temporal lobes (which are involved in memory, mood, and understanding speech). Depression is a brain illness, and SPECT scans of patients suffering from anxiety and depression demonstrate several different patterns of brain activity.
Time and again we have seen the generational toll of addiction. We have compassion for all who are involved. The question is, how can you intervene and break the cycle of not only addiction, but also depression, which so often leads to addiction?
Our Recommendations
We have three immediate recommendations to any parent and their adult children who are ready to break the cycle of addiction and depression and start reversing damage that has been done.
Get an Assessment of Your Brain
At Amen Clinics, our full evaluation includes a detailed history, cognitive testing and two brain SPECT studies (at rest and during a concentration task). SPECT (single-photon emission computerized tomography) is a special kind of image of the brain that gives doctors crucial information. How can you change your brain if you do not know anything about it?
Get The Support You Need
You don’t have to be an addict or a manic to have a hard time making change. Major life changes are very difficult for many people. Studies have shown that those who surround themselves with a support group are far more likely to have success implementing major changes.
Accept Hope
In our thirty years, we have collectively performed over 150,000 scans on patients from 120 countries, we have seen many cases of addiction, depression, brain trauma, and illness. But you must know that we have seen an equal or greater amount of recovery, repair and re-engagement with life in patients who had almost given up on the possibility of getting better. The brain is complicated and delicate, but it is also resilient beyond explanation.
We Can Help
We urge you to accept that there is hope. When you do that, taking action to break the cycle is the natural next step. The Amen Clinics biomedical evaluation is part of The Amen Clinics Method approach to mental and physical health. We treat each patient as an individual, and take a full personal history before beginning SPECT imaging or recommending any treatment program. Call us today at 888-288-9834 or schedule an appointment online.
Research has found that men diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood have significantly worse functional outcomes as adults compared to men without the disorder.
Why?
Since functional outcomes are defined as “the cost of ADHD in terms of real-life adaptations and managing the demands of adulthood”, these findings really emphasize the importance of identifying ADHD symptoms in patients of all ages.
What Research Says
A 33-year follow-up study conducted by investigators at the Child Study Center at New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City showed that men who were diagnosed with ADHD as children had worse educational, occupational, economic, and social outcomes compared with non-ADHD comparison participants.
Led by Rachel G. Klein, PhD, the researchers also found higher rates of divorce, ongoing ADHD, antisocial personality disorder, and substance use disorders as well as more hospitalizations and incarcerations.
The Findings
“Our findings confirm that men diagnosed with ADHD as children had multiple disadvantages throughout their lifetime,” Dr. Klein said in a statement. “It’s essential that we monitor children with ADHD through adolescence and continue to treat them to help offset issues that can extend into adulthood,” she added.
To examine the long-term outcomes in this patient population, the investigators followed 135 men who were diagnosed with ADHD at a mean age of 8 years and a comparison group of 136 men not diagnosed with childhood ADHD. The average age at follow-up was 41 years.
At 33-year follow-up, results revealed that only 3.7% of affected men had academic degrees higher than high school diplomas, compared with 29.4% of comparator control participants. Further, those with ADHD as children also had lower occupational status levels and relatively poorer socioeconomic status compared with control participants.
Men with Childhood ADHD
Men with childhood ADHD also had higher rates of ongoing ADHD, at 22.2% vs 5.1% for the comparison group. The authors note, however, that ADHD symptoms in the comparison group may have emerged during adulthood.
Both antisocial personality disorder and substance abuse disorder were also more frequent in men with childhood ADHD. However, the groups did not differ in the frequency of ongoing mood or anxiety disorders.
“Difficulties with substance use, academic underachievement, and relationship issues — all of those are already there in adolescence, so it speaks to the importance of addressing these problems in adolescence because they have lifelong consequences,” said Dr. Rostain.
He noted that one of the issues not addressed in the study was how much treatment ADHD men received and what percentage of patients continued treatment at any point in time. In fact, these men were diagnosed in the 1970s, when it was believed stimulants were addictive, so treatment with stimulants was discontinued by the time the children reached adolescence, he noted.
How We Can Help
If you or a loved one is suffering from any of the symptoms of ADD/ADHD, The Amen Clinics Method of integrative psychiatric care can help. Using innovative and personalized care, our outcomes consistently demonstrate improvement for patients – including many who have tried and failed prior treatment.
Our Full Evaluation of your biological/psychological/social/spiritual history, coupled with two brain SPECT imaging scans (at rest and at concentration), cognitive testing, and clinical assessment is designed to address your unique needs and offer targeted treatment options. We invite you to call today at 888-288-9834 or visit us online to schedule a visit.
